


Midnight Tea

by John_Q_Sample



Category: Knight Rider (1982)
Genre: Devon Is Sad, Gen, Michael Is Also Sad, RIP :(, Tea, midnight talks, post-Goliath, venting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-15 06:09:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15406707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Q_Sample/pseuds/John_Q_Sample
Summary: (Part of me breaking up the "oneshot collection".)In the middle of the night, Michael goes out for a walk through the Foundation and finds Devon making tea in his office.





	Midnight Tea

Michael roams the empty hallways of the Foundation. It’s the middle of the night; he doesn’t really know what he expects to see there.

He can’t sleep. That’s what it is. Ever since his last case, and ever since the supposed death of Garthe Knight, Michael hasn’t been able to calm his nerves. So far, he’s been working under an unhealthy amount of coffee. He’s had one too many sleepless nights in his apartment; he needs to get out.

He hears the sound of someone boiling water, which is quickly followed by the scent of tea. Searching for the source of this lands him right in front of Devon’s office. Of course.

“A little late for tea, don’t you think?” Michael says as he pushes the double doors open.

Devon isn’t startled by the sudden entrance. “And what are you doing up at—” He checks his watch. “—one in the morning?”

“I could ask the same about you, Devon.”

Devon fixes Michael with a stern look.

“Look, I was just thinking.”

“Thinking? You?”

Michael ignores the joke. He steps into the office and closes the door behind himself. The lights in the room are on, and it’s clear Devon hasn’t left this place since his work day. Stacks of paperwork sit neatly organized on the desk, meaning he hasn’t actually been doing anything other than trying to keep himself busy. Michael isn’t the only one bothered by the case.

“Would you like some tea?”

Michael knows next to nothing about tea, especially all the kinds Devon has. “What type is it?”

Devon hands over the box of tea bags for Michael to inspect. “It’s a blend intended to calm the mind and improve sleep. Good to have at times like this.”

Michael looks up from the box to find that Devon is already reaching for another teacup in the cupboard. Michael watches him pour the tea cup. He gestures towards the box, and Michael gives it back so that Devon can get another tea bag. He drops one in and gives the cup to Michael with a warning that it’s going to be hot, which doesn’t stop Michael from burning his tongue just two seconds later.

“There must be something on your mind,” Devon prompts while blowing gently on his tea.

Michael avoids the subject. “Yeah, you too. Look at this place.”

“I’m just busy with handling paperwork of the case, and helping Jennifer in this time of need. You...” Devon sighs, closing his eyes for a few seconds. “Michael, you didn’t deserve to be thrown into all of this family drama. Wilton didn’t warn you of any of this. He didn’t truly think about what he was doing.”

Michael winces while taking another sip of the scalding tea. “How’s Jennifer, though? I mean, her whole family...”

“Yes, Garthe was her last connection to her family, as awful as it was. She’s handling this quite well, though, or as well as one can given the situation.”

“I don’t think he’s really dead.”

Devon looks up, startled. Michael hadn’t even intended to say this out loud.

“I mean...think about it,” Michael says, knowing that Devon wants him to explain. “He doesn’t seem like someone who would just  _die_ like that. It’s not like I  _want_ him to come back. I just want to be prepared in case he does.”

Devon sips his tea as he considers the idea. “I don’t know, Michael. It’s certainly a possibility. However, should he return, he would have to rebuild Goliath on his own, with no help or resources. He’s been legally declared dead, you know. We  _will_ keep people on this case, you know, so if he does ever make it out, we will be able to find him before he can even do anything.”

“I know,” Michael says. “I was just...wondering.”

“Are you going to be okay, Michael?”

He’s striking such a tone that Michael knows he has to be honest.

“I just need to get everything figured out...I feel like it’s my fault, somehow. I know it wasn’t my choice. Wilton was the one who replaced Garthe with me, but—”

“My dear boy, you are  _not_ a replacement for Garthe!” Devon argues, flaring up suddenly. “It is true that you were intended to  _resemble_ him, but not _replace_ him. Wilton viewed you as something like a son. What he saw in you was potential. That is why he saved you, and why he chose you as the driver of the Knight 2000.”

Michael puts up his free hand. “Alright, Devon, calm down.”

Devon’s face is still pink. He sighs and takes a sip of his tea.

“I didn’t know you cared so much.”

“Well of course I care.”

Michael doesn’t know how he should respond. His silence is like an invitation for Devon to keep talking.

“I really  _am_ sorry you had to be put through this,” Devon says. “Like I said earlier, Wilton didn’t think through what he was doing. I wasn’t even aware of it until it was too late, and I was bound by my word not to mention Garthe unless absolutely necessary...”

“Why didn’t he just tell me about his family?” Michael wonders. “I thought he was just some old man with one friend—you. I knew him for months. You’d think he’d at least mention something, or at least have a picture out.”

Devon places the tea cup on the counter behind him. “Wait here.”

He walks over to the desk. Taking a small key from his inside pocket, he unlocks a drawer in the desk. Michael cranes his neck to see what’s inside, but Devon closes the desk immediately after taking out a framed photograph. He walks back and hands it over.

The picture depicts a family, clearly posing for the camera. Michael’s eyes are first drawn to two men who look startlingly similar to him. A younger Wilton and a teenaged Garthe. There are two women, one next to Wilton and one next to Garthe. Michael presumes them to be Elizabeth and Jennifer respectively. There’s a fifth person who Michael can’t recognize, but he stands next to Wilton and smiles.

“What’s this?”

Devon sighs. “Wilton’s family. He always kept the picture hidden, thinking they’d be considered as his ‘weak point’ and get hurt by someone trying to get to him.”

Michael recalls similar things happening to him.

Devon places his finger beside the face of the man Michael can’t recognize. “This one is me.”

“No way! That’s really you?” Michael looks back and forth between the picture and Devon. There’s some resemblance between the two, but Michael has never seen Devon so young before. “I can’t believe it.”

Devon only shrugs and goes back to his tea. “Wilton used to be closer to his family—I as well. After his separation with Elizabeth, though, things fell apart.”

“They got divorced?”

“They didn’t consider themselves a couple, but they were never officially divorced, no.” Devon shakes his head. “After that, Garthe was arrested, and Jennifer felt she had to choose between her parents. Elizabeth was never supportive of F.L.A.G., you see, but Jennifer wanted to help. Elizabeth felt her daughter had turned her back on her...”

Devon pauses for a moment, lost in thought. Michael waits to see what will come next.

“I suppose what you said was almost right—how he barely knows anyone. By the end of his life, we were the only ones he really talked to, and then some doctors and people from the Foundation.”

“Are  _you_ okay?

Devon doesn’t know how to respond to the question. He finishes off the rest of his tea. “We’ll all be fine,” he says finally as he goes to put his teacup back.

“I’ll clean all this up,” Michael says.

Devon freezes, then nods slowly. He walks out of the office, alone.


End file.
